Toby is a quintessential English gent; bumbling, noble and Dr Who obsessed. He's also a very deft writer whose work keeps making Stu cry, as well as a respected compere and champion of newer acts. We talk about his stewardship of the club XS Mallarkey, using self-deprecation as a defense mechanism, and tease at the feeling of being surplus...

Extra material available exclusively to Insiders includes Toby on his brilliant contribution to a radio show commemorating the life of Spike Milligan, and the time he punched a heckler.

Anuvab Pal is one of a new generation, exploding out of India's relatively recent "comedy Big Bang". This disarming, witty act reveals how hard he finds it to embrace the Western "free thought" approach to learning, and waxes lyrical on the difference between art and "retail entertainment", as well as giving us the low-down on who to watch out for in Indian comedy...

Hear extra material from this conversation with Anuvab, as well as extras from Russell Howard, James Acaster and more, PLUS a load of other interactive comedy projects giving you more tailored direct advice on creating work. Don't miss out, download the private "Insiders" podcast at www.comedianscomedian.com/insiders

Very funny, amazingly watchable, and offering genuine insight into his personal and social politics, Tez Ilyas is a Northern, working-class, muslim comic capable of going all the way. Exceptionally frank about his disappointment on being overlooked for award nomination, he goes on to identify the historic lack of diversity on the judging panel of one of the most highly regarded prizes in British comedy...

Dane Baptiste is raising the bar for articulate, socially-conscious stand-up, and pulls no intellectual punches in this conversation, which takes in chakras, Arthur Maslow's hierarchy of needs and transcendental perception... We talk about what it means to be the first black Briton to be nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award; why validation, gratification and dopamine aren't the end goal; and why he's a goofball.

One of the most recognisable faces in UK comedy, Matt Lucas charts his journey from Shooting Stars’ improvising baby-grow nutcase George Dawes, to the double-act with David Walliams that made him a household name, to his most recent foray into purely physical comedy Pompidou.
We explore his writing and creative process, and as well as unpacking the controversy surrounding Little Britain and Come Fly with Me, we learn what drives Matt, and whether his success has brought him happiness.

An actor and radio presenter as well as a touring comic, Justin Moorhouse is a supernaturally warm presence with the ability to make any audience sit up and beg. We go into detail on his story-boarding and structuring techniques, and explore the responsibilities of a comedian at the height of his powers.

In part two of this conversation with the free-wheeling comedy craftsman, Ross Noble argues that ideas with unusual logic are often mistaken for “surreal” comedy, and explains his process of un-honing ideas by starting with something neat and then taking it to bits live on stage…

Ross Noble makes apparently casual improvisation into an art form, breathing life into nonsense for hours at a time and provoking gales of laughter.
In the first part of this conversation we talk about how he cultivated his devoted live following, how hard it is to define what’s basically him “dicking about”, and the benefits of making TV warm-up work for you…